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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: old head on August 18, 2016, 04:35:24 PM

Title: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: old head on August 18, 2016, 04:35:24 PM
I have never seen so much water in all the years I have lived in Louisiana.  I don't live in a flood area
, but the water came up about a foot at my place.  No water in the house, but in the storage shed.  I never thought it would get this deep, geez....

Son lost his car, my truck (he had borrowed it), and looks like his house was under about 7' of water, so we are just waiting to see what the insurance does. 

wasn't too bad, lost power for 3 days, but we had water, and limited cell phone.  Verizon beat out ATT (son) and straight talk (wife).  I always had bars they didn't, just an observation not an recommendation

We couldn't get out due to high water on the roads, but we were finally able to leave yesterday.

I was here for Katrina, Gustaf, and other minor storms, but never had water this high.

I had the boat gassed up and ready to go, lots of boats came in and out of our area, but we stayed.   

Old Head

Old Head
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: LowRyter on August 18, 2016, 04:40:12 PM
best of luck and best to your family. 
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Texas Turnip on August 18, 2016, 05:05:11 PM
Do we always give thanks? I went thru a tornado on April 29th. Vehicles and house escaped damage, but lost all my trees. Darn, I'm lucky compared to you folks in Cajun land. Hope your insurance treats you better than the zit sucking company I have.

Tex
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Gliderjohn on August 18, 2016, 05:15:13 PM
Hope it all works out for your son. From what I have seen on TV, WOW! Nothing much worse IMHO for cleanup than from flooding. I am amazed that their has not been more loss of life...but that may still be being assessed.
GliderJohn
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: twowings on August 18, 2016, 07:16:18 PM
Sorry about your family's losses, but happy all are alive!  I did rescue/rehab work in the great flood of '93 in the KC area....what a stinking mess!  Not just the water and silt and snakes, but all the household, industrial, and automotive chemicals and dead animal effluent that leached into the floodwaters...flood ing worse than any other natural disaster by far!
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: rodekyll on August 19, 2016, 12:16:31 AM
Best hopes for everyone out there. 
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Sheepdog on August 19, 2016, 08:20:06 AM
We dodged a bullet here in Waldheim. It's plenty wet, but we're on a 78' ridge that kept us high and relatively dry. To think: a few years back it was so dry I had to water my new trees with pumped pond water.

Sometimes chicken...sometimes feathers.
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: LaMojo on August 19, 2016, 08:31:55 AM
Thinking of you guys in South Louisiana.  Hope your son is able to recoup his losses with insurance. (And your truck).
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Charles in Lake Charles on August 19, 2016, 09:30:35 AM
It was an amazing storm.  I watched the radar for a good day as the heavy rain fell about 30 miles from Lake Charles.  It finally hit us but only in patches. We got about 7or 8 inches in two days and no flooding plus heavy showers every afternoon. Lake Arthur, about 30 miles from LC, is still under mandatory evacuation. I rode the "Mightly Convert" today for the first time in a week.

Back to school for one more year and then RETIREMENT!
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Bonafide Bob on August 19, 2016, 11:27:41 AM
All I got here north of Covington was a lot of rain, my property is high with good drainage.
  The folks southwest of here sure are receiving the worst of this flooding.

  Bob
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: CapitalGoose on August 19, 2016, 12:38:20 PM
Sorry brother. 

I grew up in BR. I don't have family down there anymore, but I know a LOT of people who lost a lot of stuff. Luckily, stuff can be replaced. Glad you're OK.

Remember Andrew? That was the worst while I was there. This is a lot worse.
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: davedel44 on August 19, 2016, 03:04:00 PM
Sorry for the damage and glad everyone is safe.

Lessons learn from Hurricane Ike.

Tell your son that there is a huge difference in insurance payouts largely dependent on the adjuster.  Make a comprehensive list of damage and items lost with lots of pictutes.  Negotiate for best payout   possible.

Good luck.

Dave
Galveston

Dusty,

Perry boys and Guzzi Dave fine.

D
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: oldbike54 on August 19, 2016, 03:16:51 PM
 Thanks Dave .

 Dusty
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Kent in Upstate NY on August 19, 2016, 04:31:39 PM
Hope he has flood insurance. Homeowners does not cover floods.
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Tom on August 19, 2016, 08:01:31 PM
Good to hear you're okay.  Stuff you can replace.
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Nic in Western NYS on August 20, 2016, 10:31:28 AM
Thinking of you and your neighbors.  Hoping the communities can pull together and come out stronger.
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Penderic on August 20, 2016, 02:26:22 PM
 :cry:

(http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag77/Penderic/Penderic002/flood%20in%20Aug_zpsudsduhyg.jpg)

Soggy piano music    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-RICwy3Fec

Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: atavar on August 23, 2016, 10:53:06 AM
Amazing community response. I could not be more impressed.
Could it be the difference is widespread involving more rural area instead of being  focused in coastal urban areas? Or could it just be that people learned from positive examples during Katrina?
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Gliderjohn on August 23, 2016, 11:30:47 AM
Rural people as a whole have more resources and equipment to deal with this mess compared to the inner city. Not always but as a whole I believe that rural folk have learned over the years that mutual assistance is needed in many cases just to deal with everyday life.
GliderJohn
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: atavar on August 23, 2016, 01:49:02 PM
I do know that while I was working at a telco during prolonged outages we pretty much had to post guards if we put $200 generators at remote pedestals.  Even locked up with heavy chains they would disappear. 
More than once a refueling crew arrived to find a guy in a pickup truck taking the generator frame apart to slip the heavy chain off.  Procedure was to take the license number and call the sheriff while driving away.
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Tom on August 23, 2016, 01:54:15 PM
Generators were disappearing all over the place after the last hurricane hit the SE of the island.  Unfortunately, people don't think it's a criminal act when they steal to supplement their lifestyle.
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: atavar on August 23, 2016, 01:56:46 PM
There are a very few circumstances where I agree with that..  for example hunting without a license to feed your family should not be a crime.
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: oldbike54 on August 23, 2016, 02:05:43 PM
 Anyway , the situation in South Louisiana is a mess , and we all certainly hope our friends down there recover .

 Dusty
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Tom on August 23, 2016, 02:13:22 PM
There are a very few circumstances where I agree with that..  for example hunting without a license to feed your family should not be a crime.

Tend to agree with you there or out of season season hunting.
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: old head on August 25, 2016, 07:52:14 AM
Insurance companies seem to be jerking people around, saying what they will pay for.
Son's house had about 5'-6' of water in house, over the top of his cars.  Still have yet to tow cars and assess the damage, bottom line no money for cars, so can't buy anything to replace it yet.

House adjuster wants the house professionally cleaned and dehumidified before hie can assess.  Geez, the house is 70 years old plywood floors are buckeling up, mold is forming on the ceiling already.  the house is going to have to have a lot of work to bring it up to code, no way it can be rebuilt for what it is worth I don't think.

delay, delay, delay.....

Why is it so hard to get people to do the right thing.

Old Head
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: sib on August 25, 2016, 08:39:07 AM
There are a very few circumstances where I agree with that..  for example hunting without a license to feed your family should not be a crime.
Well, of course, unless your hunting prevents me from feeding my family.
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: GearheadGrrrl on August 25, 2016, 11:07:40 AM
Insurance companies seem to be jerking people around, saying what they will pay for.
Son's house had about 5'-6' of water in house, over the top of his cars.  Still have yet to tow cars and assess the damage, bottom line no money for cars, so can't buy anything to replace it yet.

House adjuster wants the house professionally cleaned and dehumidified before hie can assess.  Geez, the house is 70 years old plywood floors are buckeling up, mold is forming on the ceiling already.  the house is going to have to have a lot of work to bring it up to code, no way it can be rebuilt for what it is worth I don't think.

delay, delay, delay.....

Why is it so hard to get people to do the right thing.

Sounds like the insurance company is trying to get by on the cheap. I learned years ago that unless you have very cheap labor (like your own), if a house flooded above floor level it costs more to repair than it's worth. So no point in cleaning the house, it's totaled, and same for the cars.

Old Head
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Tom on August 25, 2016, 07:07:38 PM
Looks like a lot of the homes weren't in a flood zone.  So additional flood insurance would not have been required.  Sorry to hear so many be affected without the insurance coverage.  We have to carry hurricane insurance even though that may not happen to us.  Highly, unlike according to past history.  We would actually be more susceptible to earthquakes.  Volcanic eruptions are more at the SE side of the island.  We don't have volcano insurance or earthquake coverage.  I suspect that it would be very hard to collect if you had earthquake insurance which is expensive.
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: old head on August 27, 2016, 07:39:00 PM
Son got to see a FEMA adjuster today.  He thought the house could be rebuilt based on what my sons coverage is.  He did say that he should apply for a grant, would probably be turned down at first, but after he got a settlement offer from the insurance, my son should reapply for a grant and it would probably be granted due to the devastation of the area.

Time will tell.  Still waiting on the car insurance people, still haven't towed or offered a settlement.  I suspect there will be some changes on insurance companies based on what I am hearing.   Some companies are going all out for their customers, some not so much.

KInda like the cell phone companies, some companies had service, some didn't.  People will be making changes in future.

Old Head

Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Lannis on August 27, 2016, 07:52:30 PM
I suspect there will be some changes on insurance companies based on what I am hearing.   Some companies are going all out for their customers, some not so much.

KInda like the cell phone companies, some companies had service, some didn't.  People will be making changes in future.

Old Head

Same thing happened with the F-3 tornado that ripped a swath through the county this past February.

1) Astonishing how many people have no insurance of any kind on their house.   You roll the dice and crap out sometimes.

2) "State Farm" insureds were getting jerked around.   The tornado was on TV, a village was devastated, houses torn down to the foundations ... and they were asking for proof, for documentation, making homeless owners jump through hoops of red tape.

3) "Farm Bureau" and "Allstate" representatives were there with checkbooks in their hands and pens out, wading through the boards, shingles, and drywall scraps in the fields along with the owners.

My place wasn't affected, but I went out and changed my policy immediately!

Lannis
Title: Re: Louisiana Flood, and how I survived the great flood of 2016
Post by: Gliderjohn on August 27, 2016, 09:49:55 PM
I am surprised that such a large area flooded that was not declared a flood zone. In my immediate area their are several watershed dams including my own of 36 acres. About two to three years after Katerina drive in access was severely limited due to erosion concerns.
The biggest change however was a large increase in declared flood areas. Everything was now based on absolute worse case senerio such as my dam structure having a 100% instant collapse. Now besides many places here can know longer rebuild a house for example if it has 50%+ damage from any reason. Other restrictions may also now apply. The watershed board said this was all due to the Katrina experience.
GliderJohn